Aerosmith finds a new Dimension’

Not only is Aerosmith back in the saddle, the Bad Boys of Boston are back in the driver’s seat with its 15th studio album, “Music From Another Dimension!”

Hands down, Aerosmith is the best rock band to hail from the Bay State and, arguably, the best rock band to hail from America. And, Aerosmith’s own “Toxic Twins” — flamboyant frontman Steven Tyler and fevered guitar-slinger Joe Perry — are as tasty as ever.

The seemingly ageless combination of Tyler’s soaring high notes and Perry’s snarling guitar licks is still the perfect rock ’n’ roll call-and-response, but their fellow bandmates aren’t too shabby either. While Tyler and Perry are the Rolling Stones’ equivalent of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, like the Stones, Aerosmith’s tight rhythm section (guitarist Brad Whitford, bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer) can hold their own and then some.

In fact, Aerosmith hasn’t sounded this fuel-injecting, piston-popping, gas-guzzling, fine-tuned and fire-breathing in decades. That is, when they are rocking out with reckless abandon (which they do here often). Unfortunately, The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers also cater to the fans that they won over with their syrupy MTV hits and gooey power ballads.

Aerosmith’s “Music From Another Dimension!” could have easily been called “Music from Another Time and Place.” On the band’s first studio album of all-new material in 11 years, every notable period of Aerosmith is showcased here, from their hard-rocking beginnings to their hit-making middle period. That said, the album has more rocking tunes than confectionary misfires and Aerosmith sounds like a cohesive force to be reckoned with once again.

After a spoof of the old “Outer Limits” intro (Boy, are these guys dating themselves), Aerosmith barrels out of the starting gate with the glorious riff-shredding rocker, “Luv XXX.” A sweaty and sinewy groove of roaring, buzz-saw guitars, locomotive bass lines and crashing, rat-tat-tat drumbeats accent Tyler’s frenetic rock-rap vocals and hook-laden refrain. Aerosmith gets their collective ya-ya’s out on “Oh Yeah.”Here, Perry shoots off some gritty, Stonesy riffs while a rough and raspy Tyler pawns, “I would die for you baby/I cry for you baby/I’m on my knees for you baby/Won’t ya please give me some of your love”. A full-body rocker that sounds like a lost Rolling Stones gem, “Oh Yeah” also boasts the built-in, shout-along title and Perry burning up the fret-board like a pyromaniac with a book of matches.

“Out Go the Lights” is a rowdy sex romp set to music that is loaded with a plenty of crass behaviors, dirty limericks and naughty bad puns. It’s also a hoot. On this wicked ode to hard liquor and loose women, Tyler, in the guise of a harmonica-playing big bad wolf, huffs and puffs, “Some girls awfully risky/And some girls kick in the stall/But givin’ up woman and whiskey/Yeah, you ain’t got nothing at all.” But it would be all raunch and no roll if it wasn’t for Perry providing some snarly guitar licks and a strutty crunching groove deeply indebted to the blues on this unabashed bump and grind.

“Legendary Child,” which sounds like the lovechild of “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way,” celebrates and seemingly cashes in on Aerosmith’s rich rock ’n’ roll legacy and former glories. A rambunctious crash-course into band lore, Tyler takes us from “making love at seventeen” to taking “a chance at a high school dance,” while glossing over his drug problems, which almost completely derailed the band for good. Boasting such carpe-diem Tylerisms as “I went from never having none to want to have it all” and “I want to keep that dream alive and eat that honey from the hive,” the song is a salute to the stamina and staying power of Aerosmith. But the past means nothing if you don’t have something to look forward to the future and Tyler’s fellow band-mates supply plenty of snarly guitar grooves, rumbling bass lines and crashing drums to make it an irresistible rocker on its own merits.

Sounding like a misplaced toy in the attic, “Street Jesus” has plenty of cocksure swagger and precision guitar playing which will make you want to thank the heavens above. Despite confessing his shortcomings and his sins to a would- be messiah on the street, Tyler moves onto his turf, showboats and boasts, “I’m a high stepping lover/Sharp as a knife/I’m a pink flamingo/On the great lawn of life”. Jesus, you got served.

Tyler and Carrie Underwood cuddle and call each other cute pet names such as “mountain child” and “good old timey cowboy,” respectively, on Aerosmith’s shameless bid for country crossover appeal, “Can’t Stop Loving You.” Underwood, who did a competent enough job covering Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion” on her recent tour, sounds like a doe caught in the spotlight, while Tyler’s forced inflection to the lyrics sounds more like a nervous tick than the prerequisite country twang. Hey, maybe it will be a hit on country radio but, for rock ’n’ roll standards, it’s absolutely dreadful

Despite its silly title, “Lover A Lot” gives the listener a lot to love, thanks greatly to the ferocious backbeat supplied by blistering bassist Hamilton and powder-keg drummer Kramer.

The schmaltzy power ballad “We All Fall Down” is the latest exercise in sentimental drivel, penned by sap-meister extraordinaire Diane Warren, who also dreamed up Aerosmith’s only No. 1, “I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing” (aka the love them from “Armageddon.”) Tyler sniffles, “Remember nobody can always be strong/We all fall down/I will catch you.” Yeah but who’s going to catch Tyler? While Tyler had the uncanny knack of making lousy songs sound great, that’s not the case here.

“The Demon of Screaming” (aka Tyler) reunites with Desmond Child (co-writer of “Crazy”) for the closing ditty, “Another Last Goodbye.” Asking “What’s it take to make this love survive,” Tyler hits some spine-tingling high notes as he tickles the ivories and comes up with a Beatleseque power ballad and potential concert showstopper.